OK THIS TIME LETS JUST MAKE IT SIMPLE......VOTE FOR THE PREMIER AFRICAN CITY........

ACCRA WOULD HAVE MADE IT...BUT I CAN ONLY PUT 15....

I'd bet on either nairobi or Pretoria...I voted for Nairobi, since i assume we're shying a little away from SA with regards to this new African capital thing...

i voted for Nairobi,its westernised modern and has a very impressive Skyline.

i voted for lunanda cause its kickass and is a sea of cranes otherwise i would pick nairobi cause pretoria is pretty boring compared to its big brother joburg

I voted 3 cities:

1st city because of its strong prospect and impressive skyscrapers to be built ( especially that 64-storey thing lalala :banana: )... not to mention good-looking roads and colourful architecture.

2nd city because of its strategic location , which makes it very favourable to serve like a hub.

3rd city because of its business and comercial importance + tourism, but i think this city really needs to raise its population number to avoid being lose out to the emerging cities in the region.

It would be a joke to vote for anywhere else than Cairo.

Cairo is, always was, and always will be the capital of African & the middle east!:cheers:

Not being biased because I live there, it's fact.

i vote Nairobi

I voted Pretoria and Cairo. There's a few other contenders but I couldn't decide :)

It would be a joke to vote for anywhere else than Cairo.

Cairo is, always was, and always will be the capital of African & the middle east!:cheers:

Not being biased because I live there, it's fact.
you live there.you don't know other cities,that is why it's a joke to vote anywhere else.you confessed!:lol:

Cairo for the North
Abuja for the West
Nairobi for the East
Pretoria for the South

Kinshasa could be big for Central Africa, but that's not happening anytime soon.

Accra def wont be up there. The way the city is going I am not happy. It is growing outwards rather than upwards.

Accra def wont be up there. The way the city is going I am not happy. It is growing outwards rather than upwards.
it's just been over shadowed by abuja in west africa but definately better than some listed above.:cheers:

what about lagos?

what about lagos?

Its not a capital city...

SO DO WE GIVE IT TO NAIROBI?

ALGIERS 4EVER!!!!!!

West Africa

Abuja


Southern Africa

Luanda

Central Africa

Kinshasa (sometime in the future)

North Africa

Algiers

East Africa

Nairobi, of course

West Africa

Abuja


Southern Africa

Luanda

Central Africa

Kinshasa (sometime in the future)

North Africa

Algiers

East Africa

Nairobi, of course

very true!:lol: :lol:

looking at all of africa outside of SA i would have to go for Nairobi, great city

West Africa

Abuja


Southern Africa

Luanda

Central Africa

Kinshasa (sometime in the future)

North Africa

Algiers

East Africa

Nairobi, of course

Let me fix that lol!!

]West Africa

Abuja


Southern Africa

Cape Town

Central Africa

Luanda - No central african capital is showing any advancement so this would do lol!!

North Africa

Algiers

East Africa

Nairobi, of course

Skyline or no skyline, 21st century premier capital shoud be well planned and more modern looking rather old beauty like those of many cities mentioned above.Abuja would have to be on top of the list at this time,I guess.

I would give it to Nairobi for now and in the short term. South african cities are definately more developed but their geographical location rules them out. In the long term I think the prominent cities outside SA in SSA will be Nairobi, Abuja and Luanda. I would have added Khartoum, Accra and Addis but they honestly have alot of catching up to do.

I would give it to Nairobi for now and in the short term. South african cities are definately more developed but their geographical location rules them out. In the long term I think the prominent cities outside SA in SSA will be Nairobi, Abuja and Luanda. I would have added Khartoum, Accra and Addis but they honestly have alot of catching up to do.

whats wrong with the location of SA cities?

^^ I've been wondering the same thing. That's like discounting London from Europe or Tokyo from Asia as they're not geographically central enough. Come to think of it, neither is New York, Sao Paulo or Sydney

I havent been to like 90% of the cities mentioned here so I'm going to say good ol' Pretoria.Just what exactly makes a city a "Africa's premier 21st century capital"?I'd imagine diplomacy would be a factor which is why I'm voting PTA.

When choosing Africa's hub, the location is important to some extent. It should be a city easily accessible from any part of Africa both in economic sense and also time.

Don't think trade between African countries as reached the point where it's essential that there be a central hub.

Just because there is not as much trade between the African countries rite now does not mean that it won't get there. We are talking about the whole 21st century...

and there needs to be one why?

Africa already has a capital, it's Johannesburg. It's without a doubt the financial capital of the continent, anything else related to "administrating" is irrelevant in my eyes. Hell, what are the statistics? Tiny Gauteng that represents only some 1% of the South African landmass represents over 10% of Africa's GDP. If you include only Sub Saharan Africa it's probably over 15%.

Africa already has a capital, it's Johannesburg. It's without a doubt the financial capital of the continent, anything else related to "administrating" is irrelevant in my eyes. Hell, what are the statistics? Tiny Gauteng that represents only some 1% of the South African landmass represents over 10% of Africa's GDP. If you include only Sub Saharan Africa it's probably over 15%.

That is how it stands as of now, but trust me things are going to change with time. SA cities will have to cede more ground to the other African cities in future. This is quite evident; various multinationals have shifted their African headquarters from SA to Nairobi and others have just all together set up their HQs in Nairobi when opening shop in Africa.

^^ It's all retrospective. On the other hand, you'll find many new entrants to the continent or country setting up headquarters in Johannesburg.

I voted Nairobi... little bit biased but only because Joburg and capetown are not there. SA cities are light years ahead of the rest and it will take a while for the rest of us to catch up.

That is how it stands as of now, but trust me things are going to change with time. SA cities will have to cede more ground to the other African cities in future. This is quite evident; various multinationals have shifted their African headquarters from SA to Nairobi and others have just all together set up their HQs in Nairobi when opening shop in Africa.

Things will change and the gap will decrease but regardless in 20 years from now Joburg will still be the financial capital of Africa, the gap really is that big. I've been to Nairobi and to me it has one of the best CBD's in all of Africa but if you punch in the numbers regarding GDP, domestic/foreign investments, companies that set up HQ's, GDP per capita, the gap is quite staggering. Heck just look at the fact that 9 out of 10 of Africa's largest companies are in SA. Most probably have the HQ's set up in Gauteng.

and there needs to be one why?


I don't know oooh.

May be, because other continents claim or are seen as having one. Africa should follow suit is the motive............sound like me too, doesn't it ? :lol:

^^ sounds silly...its like saying lets join all of Asia together. There is no point in it.

And yes, Johannesburg (you could even include Cape Town and Durban - even though we are both much smaller GDP wise than Joburg) is light years ahead of other african cities. To say that that situation will change rapidly in the coming years is foolhardy. Yes the rest of the continent is and will continue to record impressive growth, at percentage levels higher than SA, but i really struggle to see a more worthy title holder in the current medium term vision than Joburg. In this day and age it is the financial centres that come up tops.

To back this up further, the Mastercard Worldwide Centres of Commerce Study: Emerging markets index - painted the following picture of the top 65 cities in the emerging markets. Shanghai and Beijing occupied spots one and two respectively, African cities were placed in the following order:

African Rank | Global rank | City name | Country

1 | 11 | Johannesburg | South Africa
2 | 33 | Cape Town | South Africa
3 | 37 | Durban | South Africa
4 | 40 | Tunis | Tunisia
5 | 44 | Cairo | Egypt
6 | 53 | Casablanca | Morocco
7 | 63 | Nairobi | Kenya
8 | 65 | Dakar | Senegal

Before you all start getting tense over the results (and i hope to avoid that), please go to the following link (http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/insights/studies/studies.html) and download the full report, read it and then comment. The report gives all the criteria used and reasoning for why countries performed in some areas and not others

Additionally - Johannesburg is the only African city to have made the Global Centres of Commerce list at #58

Take some time to browse around that section, there is alot of useful information that i think alot of you should read as it is very pertinent for finding solutions to African cities problems, as well as highlighting why certain cities on the continent are so far ahead.

Things are going to change and that is a fact. Whether it takes a century or forever... SA will cease to be the only investment option in Africa; this is the current perception. When google set up their HQs in Nairobi I happened to go through some South African websites and the mood in almost all of them was like 'how could they....'

Google set up HQ there? I read ICT websites on a daily basis and never heard that. Well, congrats to them.

However, keep in mind that Google is but one company. It's not that we're saying we don't want the rest of Africa to develop, it's just a matter of being realistic. Johannesburg really is that far ahead.

Hope this doesnt turn into one of those "my country's dick is bigger than your country's" threads.P.a.t.r.i.o.t,please tell me more about Google setting up house in Nairobi,Google Africa I presume?

Information of google opening shop in Africa is all over the internet, just do your research. But there was an interesting blog I came across titled 'google favours Kenya over SA'. It was in 'mybroadband' which I believe is a South African website.

Africa already has a capital, it's Johannesburg. It's without a doubt the financial capital of the continent, anything else related to "administrating" is irrelevant in my eyes. Hell, what are the statistics? Tiny Gauteng that represents only some 1% of the South African landmass represents over 10% of Africa's GDP. If you include only Sub Saharan Africa it's probably over 15%.

its one of those stats ive heard before, what is johannesburg's gdp, so one can do the calculation.

Yes, I would expect so. My point is that there wasn't a "OMG GOOGLE OPENED UP HQ IN KENYA!!! SHAME ON THEM!" in the South African media. It was nothing like that.

Things are going to change and that is a fact. Whether it takes a century or forever... SA will cease to be the only investment option in Africa; this is the current perception. When google set up their HQs in Nairobi I happened to go through some South African websites and the mood in almost all of them was like 'how could they....'

Of course things will change, thats a given, but no one has a clue of what that change will be in 100 years. Thats just plain silly to be able to predict the future.

its one of those stats ive heard before, what is johannesburg's gdp, so one can do the calculation.

The city of Johannesburg (not including metro area) probably accounts for 5% of all of Africa's GDP. If you include the province of Gauteng (takes into account Pretoria and all of Joburg's metro area) it's around $60.5 bn. Take into account thats nominal and from 2006.

The city of Johannesburg (not including metro area) probably accounts for 5% of all of Africa's GDP. If you include the province of Gauteng (takes into account Pretoria and all of Joburg's metro area) it's around $60.5 bn. Take into account thats nominal and from 2006.

ive heard it many times. i want to see the numbers and facts to back it up. besides 60.5bn$ would not be 10% of 775bn$ (which I can't tell if it was in 2006 or 2008 see http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/EXTPUBREP/EXTSTATINAFR/0,,contentMDK:21106218~menuPK:824080~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:824043,00.html)

ive heard it many times. i want to see the numbers and facts to back it up. besides 60.5bn$ would not be 10% of 775bn$ (which I can't tell if it was in 2006 or 2008 see http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/EXTPUBREP/EXTSTATINAFR/0,,contentMDK:21106218~menuPK:824080~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:824043,00.html)

Okay well take this article which states that in 2010 Gauteng will account for 36% of South Africa's GDP (in 2006 it was 33%) http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=vn20070711024307153C387868. If you take the IMF's estimate of South African GDP (flawed no doubt) than one would calculate that Gauteng's GDP in 2010 would be around $161 bn.

Also keep in mind that the initial 60.5 figure I got was by converting South Rand to U.S dollars. In 2006 the Rand was a lot stronger than it is today so the figure could represent less than 3 years back.

Theirs no doubt that Joburg is easily Africa's financial hub.

I would give it to Nairobi for now and in the short term. South african cities are definately more developed but their geographical location rules them out. In the long term I think the prominent cities outside SA in SSA will be Nairobi, Abuja and Luanda. I would have added Khartoum, Accra and Addis but they honestly have alot of catching up to do.

:hammer:

Okay well take this article which states that in 2010 Gauteng will account for 36% of South Africa's GDP (in 2006 it was 33%) http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=vn20070711024307153C387868. If you take the IMF's estimate of South African GDP (flawed no doubt) than one would calculate that Gauteng's GDP in 2010 would be around $161 bn.

Also keep in mind that the initial 60.5 figure I got was by converting South Rand to U.S dollars. In 2006 the Rand was a lot stronger than it is today so the figure could represent less than 3 years back.

Theirs no doubt that Joburg is easily Africa's financial hub.

i dont doubt the last line of your post. i just haven found any figures on joburg supposedly accounting for 10 percent of africa's gdp. your post does a lot of reverse engineering to reach that conclusion, as does the link. it also mixes up guateng and joburg. joburg is the financial hub but it doesnt account for 10 or 15% of africa's economy. especilly today

Gauteng accounts for 10% of Africa's GDP. Johannesburg accounts for the majority of that 10%. Simple.

Gauteng accounts for 10% of Africa's GDP. Johannesburg accounts for the majority of that 10%. Simple.
Thank you Lydon. Hopefully this simple explanation can put this petty argument to an end. :)

btw, I picked Abuja, Luanda, and Nairobi.

:hammer:

and.. Whats your point..?!

Gauteng accounts for 10% of Africa's GDP. Johannesburg accounts for the majority of that 10%. Simple.

conclusory statement with no facts to back it up

I'm not interested in getting involved in arguments. I'm stating what I know. If anyone would like facts, I'm sure we all have enough google skills to find them.

I'm not interested in getting involved in arguments. I'm stating what I know. If anyone would like facts, I'm sure we all have enough google skills to find them.

no one was talking to you in the first place. i wrote to alex. since you decided to enter a dialogue between myself and alex, i thought youd have something more to add, you know like facts. opinions are cheap. ive googled the assertion by alex and its not proven anywhere.

no one was talking to you in the first place. i wrote to alex. since you decided to enter a dialogue between myself and alex, i thought youd have something more to add, you know like facts. opinions are cheap. ive googled the assertion by alex and its not proven anywhere.

I wasn't originally talking to you. So no...I'm not interested in getting involved in your arguments.

no one was talking to you in the first place. i wrote to alex. since you decided to enter a dialogue between myself and alex, i thought youd have something more to add, you know like facts. opinions are cheap. ive googled the assertion by alex and its not proven anywhere.

mate this is an open forum, and not a pally chat around the braai, anyone can comment

mate this is an open forum, and not a pally chat around the braai, anyone can comment

to the rescue I see. anyway, i didnt say he cant respond. i just expected him to offer something other than his opinion

conclusory statement with no facts to back it up

I thought I did. In 2010 Gauteng will represent 36% of South Africa's GDP, with that estimate Gauteng's GDP will be around $161 bn. I personally can't find the stats for 2007 or 2008 but if you take these estimates as roughly accurate that proportion doesn't seem so far off

Johannesburg is far away the financial capital of Africa its the equivalent of London and NY in Africa, the stats about the respective market caps of African stock exchanges tell a story by themselves though Botswana wants to open a Pan African commodities exchange. Other countries need a quantum leap in this regard in order to catch up

Don't think trade between African countries as reached the point where it's essential that there be a central hub.


It's not just about trade between African countries. You cannot discount location. Even when considering countries as a whole. Take for example Kenya. Kenya is the hub of East Africa because of its prime location. Countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, and Southern Sudan all depend on Kenya for transportation of their goods to and from the port. Uganda discovered oil not too long ago. Guess where many of the oil companies will set up shop? You guessed right - Nairobi. Because of its location, Nairobi stands to reap from the good fortunes of neighboring contries. :)

How is their no Johannesburg in the polls?? If there was i would vote Jo'burg.

^^ Joburg is not a capital of south africa. Those would be Cape Town Pretoria and Bloemfontien however because the constitutinal court is now the highest court in SA and is located in Joburg it is debatable if Bloem really is a capital as it was the Judical capital of SA

Nairobi is the best. Reasons:
1. Centrally located in Africa with the best Air connections to almost all African, European, American and Asian cities. thanx to Kenya Airways(The Pride of Africa).
2. Its one of the most magnificient cities compared to other African cities excluding SA.
3. Good n well maintain infrustracture.
4. Low crime rate, no wonder y multinational companies are setting up their Africa HQs in Nairobi: Zain, UN, Google and many others.
5. Fantastic weather throughout the year.

Nairobi is the best. Reasons:
1. Centrally located in Africa with the best Air connections to almost all African, European, American and Asian cities. thanx to Kenya Airways(The Pride of Africa).
2. Its one of the most magnificient cities compared to other African cities excluding SA.
3. Good n well maintain infrustracture.
4. Low crime rate, no wonder y multinational companies are setting up their Africa HQs in Nairobi: Zain, UN, Google and many others.
5. Fantastic weather throughout the year.
nairobi is as remote as joburg from a lot of people

Nairobi is the best. Reasons:
1. Centrally located in Africa with the best Air connections to almost all African, European, American and Asian cities. thanx to Kenya Airways(The Pride of Africa).
2. Its one of the most magnificient cities compared to other African cities excluding SA.
3. Good n well maintain infrustracture.
4. Low crime rate, no wonder y multinational companies are setting up their Africa HQs in Nairobi: Zain, UN, Google and many others.
5. Fantastic weather throughout the year.

1. Not true, Johannesburg is Africa's airline hub. No other city attracts more international airlines. It is also the hub of Africa's largest airline.
2. Agreed.
3. Agreed.
4. Low crime??? Were talking about Nairobi, Kenya right??? Besides street crime is not a major component when companies decide to set up their HQ's. If that was the case Windhoek would attract more companies than Cape Town.
5. Agreed.

edit

Nairobi is the best. Reasons:
1. Centrally located in Africa with the best Air connections to almost all African, European, American and Asian cities. thanx to Kenya Airways(The Pride of Africa).


Nairobi is centrally located in East Africa, not Africa as a whole whatsoever.

what kind of a hub are we talking about here? economic, transportation and communication, political, or is it in general i.e all of the above?

economic? = jo'burg(no doubt because of its wide reaching influence in sub saharan africa).

transportation and communication? = i dont know but depending purely on location i would go with addis ababa or nairobi

political? = none, its not abuja, nairobi, accra or pretoria. africa is too diverse to be influenced by one constant capital.

general? =none, but for now i would say joburg because it has a sound administrative structure it also has a heavy influence in most of africa esp sub saharan africa economically.

if you divide africa into regions then i agree with nixoderm.

i voted for nairobi simply because its my home otherwise i dont buy the notion that there is one city in africa that can be the overall hub in africa, africa is too diverse.

I think many of the leading cities in Africa all have strengths and weaknesses. I have been to J'burg, Cairo, Lagos, Capetown, Pretoria, Mombasa and I was born and raised in Nairobi.
In terms of airline trafic, I am not sure who gets the most but I would bet J'burg, Cairo and Nairobi are in the top four. J'burg is most definately a more dominant econimic power on the continent, fact are facts. Lagos is a large city but most companies that are looking to grow in the African market seem to choose J'burg or Nairobi as their headquaters. I think Nigeria has suffered due to the fact that it has never been very stable for long periods. Don't forget that Kenya is just re-emerging from the totalitarian regime of Moi and we just don't know what will happen when the next election happens. I have my fingers crossed that whoever wins will continue the good things that are happening and keep corruption down.

I voted for Abidjan because no one else had voted for it yet. :)

I voted for Pretoria.
I believe SA is the most stable & democratic country in Africa.

looks like Nairobi is winning. great city by the way. :okay:

I don't really understand this poll. Are we voting for the best outside of SA right now? Or are we voting based on what we project will happen during the 21st century?

I guess I'll do both:

- For right now,
a. I'd say it's Nairobi.

b. Cairo is a very strong contender, but I have a hard time seeing Cairo as an African city. It's too in-between Africa and Asia.

c. Pretoria is too obscure IMO. I don't think very many people outside of a few circles really now about the city. I don't think that can qualify it as an important city continent wide.

- For the future, it's really up in the air.

a. Abuja will rise in prominence when Nigeria will have the highest GDP on the continent, however I'm not sure it will ever take the spotlight away from Nairobi and other contenders.
The fact that the economic/financial capital is distinct from the political capital could work against Abuja. A little like Canberra vs Sidney, Washington, DC vs NYC and Pretoria vs Joburg.

b. Nairobi will only grow in importance and size (population, economic, political, etc) and I feel it will be one of the best cities in Africa for a very long time. I see a very bright future for Nairobi.

c. However, it's only a matter of time IMO before Addis rises as a major contender for the title of East Africa's hub. I say Addis not because it's my country's capital, but because I know the city and its people AND because of several concrete facts:

1. It has a very rapidly rising population so its size will match or even surpass Nairobi relatively soon

2. The infrastructure is terrible, but the government is investing heavily right now so it should improve and continue to improve. (I'm sure Kenya's government is doing so as well but I believe the Ethiopian one is doing bigger projects IMO).

3. Kenya is the current economic powerhouse of East Africa, but I don't think anyone will dispute that Ethiopia is currently the uncontested political and military force of the region. That won't change anytime soon IMO.

4. Ethiopia has the 2nd largest population on the continent so its economic and political influence will grow just based on that fact (same as Nigeria).

5. Addis Ababa is the current political capital of Africa: the UNECA has its base there, the AU is based there too. This won't change in the future either IMO.

6. The location of Addis offers the same benefits as that of Nairobi. If we're talking air travel, then Addis is even more advantageous. It's about 2-3 hours closer to Europe, for example.

7. Of course Addis has lots of catching up to do right now (and lots of hurdles to overcome), such as establishing a stock market, liberalization of the economy, democratization, infrastructure, internal stability as well as external stability. But IMO, once the current regime finally leaves office and a real liberal political party with real democracy are established, most of these problems will start finding solutions within a relatively short time. The only ones that will take time will be infrastructure and maybe some stability issues.


So in the future, other than Nairobi, Addis, Cairo and maybe Abuja, I really don't see other capitals having a continent-wide (or even world wide) importance of the same level.

Also, I don't think Africa will ever have one huge hub and other minor regional hubs. Right now that may be the case more or less (with Joburg) but that's because the rest of the continent is so far behind. Once widespread growth occurs, there will be multiple regional hubs and a few continent-wide (or even world-wide) hubs.

Kinshasa, Luanda, Dakar and some of the others will IMO be regional hubs, but I don't think they'll have much influence outside of their regions.


NOW, if it wasn't about capital cities but all large cities, the cities of Africa's future IMO are (in no particular order):
Lagos, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Cairo. That's it. All others will be regional.

I don't really understand this poll. Are we voting for the best outside of SA right now?

no, SA is included. Pretoria is up there in the poll. It looks like most people prefer Nairobi over Pretoria right now...although the vote is very close.

both cities are great.

In that case let me edit.

Whilst Pretoria may be South Africa's capital city, so is Cape Town and Bloemfontein. The fact that it's a capital doesn't mean very much.

Johannesburg should have been on the list in its place despite it not having the status of capital.

I don't really understand this poll. Are we voting for the best outside of SA right now? Or are we voting based on what we project will happen during the 21st century?

I guess I'll do both:

- For right now,
a. I'd say it's Nairobi.

b. Cairo is a very strong contender, but I have a hard time seeing Cairo as an African city. It's too in-between Africa and Asia.

c. Pretoria is too obscure IMO. I don't think very many people outside of a few circles really now about the city. I don't think that can qualify it as an important city continent wide.

- For the future, it's really up in the air.

a. Abuja will rise in prominence when Nigeria will have the highest GDP on the continent, however I'm not sure it will ever take the spotlight away from Nairobi and other contenders.
The fact that the economic/financial capital is distinct from the political capital could work against Abuja. A little like Canberra vs Sidney, Washington, DC vs NYC and Pretoria vs Joburg.

b. Nairobi will only grow in importance and size (population, economic, political, etc) and I feel it will be one of the best cities in Africa for a very long time. I see a very bright future for Nairobi.

c. However, it's only a matter of time IMO before Addis rises as a major contender for the title of East Africa's hub. I say Addis not because it's my country's capital, but because I know the city and its people AND because of several concrete facts:

1. It has a very rapidly rising population so its size will match or even surpass Nairobi relatively soon

2. The infrastructure is terrible, but the government is investing heavily right now so it should improve and continue to improve. (I'm sure Kenya's government is doing so as well but I believe the Ethiopian one is doing bigger projects IMO).

3. Kenya is the current economic powerhouse of East Africa, but I don't think anyone will dispute that Ethiopia is currently the uncontested political and military force of the region. That won't change anytime soon IMO.

4. Ethiopia has the 2nd largest population on the continent so its economic and political influence will grow just based on that fact (same as Nigeria).

5. Addis Ababa is the current political capital of Africa: the UNECA has its base there, the AU is based there too. This won't change in the future either IMO.

6. The location of Addis offers the same benefits as that of Nairobi. If we're talking air travel, then Addis is even more advantageous. It's about 2-3 hours closer to Europe, for example.

7. Of course Addis has lots of catching up to do right now (and lots of hurdles to overcome), such as establishing a stock market, liberalization of the economy, democratization, infrastructure, internal stability as well as external stability. But IMO, once the current regime finally leaves office and a real liberal political party with real democracy are established, most of these problems will start finding solutions within a relatively short time. The only ones that will take time will be infrastructure and maybe some stability issues.


So in the future, other than Nairobi, Addis, Cairo and maybe Abuja, I really don't see other capitals having a continent-wide (or even world wide) importance of the same level.

Also, I don't think Africa will ever have one huge hub and other minor regional hubs. Right now that may be the case more or less (with Joburg) but that's because the rest of the continent is so far behind. Once widespread growth occurs, there will be multiple regional hubs and a few continent-wide (or even world-wide) hubs.

Kinshasa, Luanda, Dakar and some of the others will IMO be regional hubs, but I don't think they'll have much influence outside of their regions.


NOW, if it wasn't about capital cities but all large cities, the cities of Africa's future IMO are (in no particular order):
Lagos, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Cairo. That's it. All others will be regional.

You have made a very strong case for Addis and Ethiopia, there is no doubt about it; Ethiopia has alot of potential. Of all the economies in SSA I have mad respect for Kenya and Ethiopia, they are non-commodity based economies which have managed to hold their own. When it comes to comparing the 2, I would say the only advantage Ethiopia has over Kenya is the population size. Am not sure if military superiority is of any importance in this day and age. This countries will rely on the services sector for their continued economic growth, Kenya clearly has the advantage here, high literacy levels and the large skilled man power. All this with the IT boom expected mid this year will continue to give Kenya the edge. In the ICT services sector, Kenya is getting the highest interest in the world with investors already setting up shop here, others are relocating from SA and India. Ethiopia's economy might match Kenya's sometime in the future but I dont see that happening with the cities, there are many factors to consider(the people, stock market, financial institutions sophistication, tourism etc) and I dont thnk Addis is up to it. The city will defntly grow in stature but I dont see it surpassing Nairobi any time..

You have made a very strong case for Addis and Ethiopia, there is no doubt about it; Ethiopia has alot of potential. Of all the economies in SSA I have mad respect for Kenya and Ethiopia, they are non-commodity based economies which have managed to hold their own. When it comes to comparing the 2, I would say the only advantage Ethiopia has over Kenya is the population size. Am not sure if military superiority is of any importance in this day and age. This countries will rely on the services sector for their continued economic growth, Kenya clearly has the advantage here, high literacy levels and the large skilled man power. All this with the IT boom expected mid this year will continue to give Kenya the edge. In the ICT services sector, Kenya is getting the highest interest in the world with investors already setting up shop here, others are relocating from SA and India. Ethiopia's economy might match Kenya's sometime in the future but I dont see that happening with the cities, there are many factors to consider(the people, stock market, financial institutions sophistication, tourism etc) and I dont thnk Addis is up to it. The city will defntly grow in stature but I dont see it surpassing Nairobi any time..

Well Agreed! Nairobi has more advantages than Addis.

cairoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

well said, after seeing the argument for and against, its time to give the verdict, its nairobi, for the strategic position and the hub for eastern africa. on top of that the only city with UNITED NATION HQ in the third World countries. JBURG for now is not in contention since its not the capital of SA itself. not only google are the MNCs moving to nairobi including COCA-COLA HQ for eastern and central africa, and the biggest could be the relocation of GE from JBURG to Nairobi. well done Abesha you had a strong case for addis but now.:lol:

The best would Al Noor city DJibouti.

...if completed...loool

IAM VOTING FOR CAIROOOOOOOOO

If you carefully read the title of the thread the answer cannot escape South Africa, however I voted for Abuja because I believe it is better positioned to becoming a true 21st Century city.

Capetown is the premier 21st Century Capital but it isn't an option.

I wouldn't rate Johannesburg or Nairobi the same.

Abidjan was reminiscent of great European city but it definitely lacked much as with the cities in North Africa.

Overall.... I'd pick Nairobi

- central location
- economically important
- hub for relatively huge carrier ( Kenya Airways ) plus a secondary hub for KLM ( ? )
- relatively good connectivity to the rest of Africa

I don't understand why people think Nairobi has a central location.

Maybe in Kenya and East Africa (minus the Horn/Sudan), but from a continental outlook, that idea can't be any farther from the truth.

Either way, there will never be a "premier African 21st century capital", the continent is too big. It's better to look at this from a regional perspective.

if thats the case than by the votes it would be Nairobi for east africa, abuja for west africa, pretoria for south africa and cairo for north africa.

if thats the case than by the votes it would be Nairobi for east africa, abuja for west africa, pretoria for south africa and cairo for north africa.

True.:cheers:

West Africa

Abuja


Southern Africa

Luanda

Central Africa

Kinshasa (sometime in the future)

North Africa

Algiers

East Africa

Nairobi, of course

no its not nairobi off course its Kampala now offcourse

but u guys also include kampala on the list due to its emerging diversity

see this Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper, cobalt, gold, and other minerals. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Growth continues to be solid, despite variability in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export, and a consistent upturn in Uganda's export markets. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$35.88 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
$33.57 billion (2007)
$30.9 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$15.04 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
6.9% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
8.6% (2007 est.)
6.6% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$1,100 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 210
$1,100 (2007 est.)
$1,100 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
agriculture: 29%
industry: 24.8%
services: 46.2% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
14.48 million (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
Labor force - by occupation:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
agriculture: 82%
industry: 5%
services: 13% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 37.7% (2002)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
45.7 (2002)
country comparison to the world: 41
Investment (gross fixed):
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
26.5% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
Budget:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
revenues: $2.72 billion
expenditures: $3.05 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2008 est.)
Public debt:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
19.5% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
10.5% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 153
Central bank discount rate:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
14.68% (31 December 2007)
country comparison to the world: 15
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
19.11% (31 December 2007)
country comparison to the world: 21
Stock of money:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$1.363 billion (31 December 2007)
country comparison to the world: 111
Stock of quasi money:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$1.302 billion (31 December 2007)
country comparison to the world: 119
Stock of domestic credit:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$907.3 million (31 December 2007)
country comparison to the world: 137
Market value of publicly traded shares:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$103.4 million (2005)
country comparison to the world: 117
Agriculture - products:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses, cut flowers; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry
Industries:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, steel production
Industrial production growth rate:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
7% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
Electricity - production:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
1.161 billion kWh (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
Electricity - consumption:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
899.7 million kWh (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 147
Electricity - exports:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
180 million kWh (2006)
Electricity - imports:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 174
Oil - consumption:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
11,570 bbl/day (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
Oil - exports:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
115.2 bbl/day (2005)
country comparison to the world: 134
Oil - imports:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
11,540 bbl/day (2005)
country comparison to the world: 133
Oil - proved reserves:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 110
Natural gas - production:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
0 cu m (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
Natural gas - consumption:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
0 cu m (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 127
Natural gas - exports:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
0 cu m (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 103
Natural gas - imports:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
0 cu m (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 127
Current account balance:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
-$933 million (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
Exports:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$2.03 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 131
Exports - commodities:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold
Exports - partners:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
Netherlands 10.2%, Belgium 9.8%, Germany 7.9%, France 7.2%, Rwanda 5.6% (2007)
Imports:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$3.579 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 130
Imports - commodities:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals
Imports - partners:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
Kenya 31.8%, China 7.8%, UAE 7.7%, South Africa 5.9%, India 5.2%, Japan 4.8% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$2.8 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
Debt - external:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$1.705 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
$NA
Exchange rates:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
Ugandan shillings (UGX) per US dollar - 1,658.1 (2008 est.), 1,685.8 (2007), 1,834.9 (2006), 1,780.7 (2005), 1,810.3 (2004)

no its not nairobi off course its Kampala now offcourse



chill on the bile my broda, its good for you...

see this Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper, cobalt, gold, and other minerals. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Growth continues to be solid, despite variability in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export, and a consistent upturn in Uganda's export markets. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion.


:cheers:

This poll is not right, to many people voting for their own country...guilty myself, voted for abuja. we should make a new poll, this time there should be 15 of the best capitals in africa. I question some of does up there. And in the new poll you can not vote for your country of origin.

that wouldnt make it right either. what if your capital just happens to be the best. :)

that wouldnt make it right either. what if your capital just happens to be the best. :)

Yep. Its pointless.:cheers:

no its not nairobi off course its Kampala now offcourse
^^
Ssebo...Genda mpolampola Kale?